Process and apparatus for a continuous pickling of wire

ABSTRACT

Process and apparatus for a continuous pickling of wire in a vertical processing container, through which the stock to be pickled is moved in a vertical direction in the form of a helix and without a backing at least on one side and is treated with pickling acid.

O United States Patent 1 13,615,818

[ Inventor Othmar Ruthner [511 1m. (:1 B0811 3/02, Vienna, Austria C23g 3/02 [21] Appl. No. 874,215 [50] Field ofSearch 134/14, 15, [22] Filed Nov. 5,1969 3,64, 65, 122, 132, 144,41; 140/1; 242/4701 [45] Patented Oct. 26, 1971 [73] Assignee Ruther lndustriplanungs- References Cited Aktiengesellschaft UNITED STATES PATENTS Ausm 3,339,373 9/1967 Mobius et a1. 134/122 X Prwmy 25, 1968 3,501,347 3/1970 Kenmore 134/14 [33] Austria l 3 l A1141 1 Primary Exammer-Morns O. Wolk [54] PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR A CONTINUOUS PICKLING 0F WIRE 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 134/3, 134/14,134/15,134/41,134/122,134/132,

Assistant Examiner-D. G. Millman Atlorney- Imirie & Smiley ABSTRACT: Process and apparatus for a continuous pickling of wire in a vertical processing container, through which the stock to be pickled is moved in a vertical direction in the form of a helix and without a backing at least on one side and is treated with pickling acid.

PATENTEU 25 I97! I 3,615,818

FIG.2

INVENTOR aTHMAR RUTHNER r W BY/LMX wi h ATTORNEYS PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR A CONTINUOUS PICKLING OF WIRE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A process for a continuous pickling of wire which is arranged in helical convolutions, which are moved through a vertical processing chamber and are contacted therein with a processing liquid. At the entrance to the processing chamber, the wire is shaped into a helix, which is moved through the pickling chamber in a vertical direction and with a constant hand and without a backing at least on the inside or outside.

Processes have been disclosed in which convolutions of wire travel through the pickling chamber in a horizontal direction while they are suspended on one or more carrying rods.

in accordance with another proposal, a strip is moved in two oppositely handed, vertical convolutions between two pairs of guide rollers, which act also as bending rollers; in this case the convolutions are in contact with each other and the strip is formed into the convolutions by the bending rollers, which engage the wire on the inside and outside.

All known processes and apparatus have the disadvantage that their throughput is insufficient and their pickling action is unsatisfactory.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process in which 'said disadvantages are avoided and in which the stock to be pickled is quickly moved through the pickling chamber in convolutions which extend around a vertical axis and the surface of the stock to be pickled is subjected to a highly satisfactory pickling action.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus which serves to carry out the process and which is simple in structure and requires only little maintenance.

Further details of the invention will be explained more fully with reference to the drawing, which shows by way of example two embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention in diagrammatic perspective views.

F 1G. 1 is an overall view showing the apparatus according to the invention with the front wall of the processing container partly broken away to expose the interior structure thereof, and

FIG. 2 shows a modified solid of revolution which is I disposed inside the processing container and serves to guide the wire.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises a towerlike processing container 1 having a vertical centerline. The container l is provided adjacent to its bottom 2 with an entrance opening 3 for the wire 6 to be pickled and adjacent to its top cover 4 with an exit opening 5 for the pickled wire 6. The exit opening 5 is diametrically opposite the entrance opening 3. A solid of revolution 7 is concentrically disposed in the processing container 1 and extends along a major part of the length of said container and is rotatably mounted in the top cover 4 and the bottom 2 of the processing container with the aid of end pins 8 and 9. The solid of revolution 7 is provided at its top end with a guide disc 11 and at its bottom end with a conical portion 12. Between the two portions 11 and 12, the solid of revolution 7 consists of a hollow cylinder 13, which is formed with nozzlelike orifices 14 in its wall. A pipe 15 opens into the hollow cylinder 13 and serves to supply pickling acid to said hollow cylinder.

An effluent conduit 16 has an inlet end extending through the bottom 2 of the processing container 1. The solid of revolution 7 is driven by a motor 17, which is coupled to the bottom pin 9 of the solid of revolution 7, e.g., by a transmission, which is not shown.

The apparatus according to the invention operates as follows: The wire 6 to be pickled is supplied from an uncoiler l8 and is straightened in a set of straightening and pinch rollers 19 and then subjected to an exactly defined deformation in a horizontal plane by a set of bending rollers 20, which are disposed slightly before the acid-treating container and consist essentially of an assembly of two stationary rollers 21, 22 and a displaceable roller 23. The above arrangement can be adjusted, e.g., by a change of the feeding speed and a change of the roller position or an exchange of the roller sets so that the formation of a helix having any desired configuration can be promoted with all kinds of wires within a certain range of cross sections (wire diameters from 1.5 millimeters to 6 millimeters). The stock to be processed which enters the processing chamber 24 of the treating container 1 and which may be preshaped is shaped into convolutions 6' by the cone 12 of the solid of revolution 7 when a rotation is imparted to the latter. These convolutions 6' leave the cone l2 and by the preceding convolutions are pulled upwardly as a freely floating helix surrounding the hollow cylinder 10 until the convolutions have reached the disc 11, which deflects the pickled stock to the exit opening 5 from the container 1. The horizontal uppermost loop of wire may be supported by rollers 25, which are mounted on the sides of the processing container. During its movement through the processing chamber 24, the helix is subjected to the action of the liquid which is sprayed out through the orifices l4.

The wire which has left the container 1 through the exit opening 5 is moved between straightening and pinch rollers 26 and through processing equipment, not shown, and is finally stored on an upcoiler 27.

The spent processing liquid is discharged from the container 1 through the effluent conduit 16 and may be recirculated to the pipe 15 through a regenerating unit.

It is also within the scope of the invention to move the stock to be pickled through the pickling chamber 24 from top to bottom rather than from bottom to top, as described. When the stock to be pickled is lowered in the processing chamber, the positions of the disc 11 and the cone 12 on the solid of revolution 7 are inverted and the cone 12 is arranged to taper downwardly. The wire 6 to be pickled now enters the pickling chamber 24 through the opening 5 and leaves the pickling chamber 24 through the opening 3. g

If it is desired to use the solid of revolution 7 for guiding and laterally backing the helix formed by the convolutions 6' also adjacent to the hollow cylinder 13, the solid of revolution 7 may be provided with rubber strips 28 in a star-shaped array or, if the stock to be pickled is lowered in the processing chamber, with tiers of roof-shaped rubber plates. In the latter case, the rubber plates when unloaded may extend in a downwardly inclined direction slightly beyond the diameter of the helix and, if desired, may be formed with radial notches or the like whereas the edge zones may be provided with inlaid lead weights. In this case, a plurality of convolutions of the descending helix may rest on each rubber plate so that the latter is downwardly deflected against its inherent resiliency, whereby the diameter of the rubber plate is reduced and the convolutions thereon slip off the same and are suddenly lowered under the action of gravity.

In all cases, the convolutions are suspended only under the action of gravity and are unguided or are guided only on one side. There is no driving element adjacent to the floating convolutions.

The term wire is used in its widest sense and covers also narrow strip.

What is claimed is:

1. A process for a continuous pickling of wire, comprising the steps of moving wire from an uncoiler through preparing means and into a cylindrical vertical processing chamber near one end thereof, winding the wire around a rotating body,

' and moving them in the form at a helix which is unbacked at withdrawing the resulting convolutions from the rotating body least on one side to the other end of the chamber while simultaneously treating the moving helix with pickling acid, and directing the last convolution of said helix at the exit end of said processing chamber by a guide member toward and through an exit opening of the processing chamber, from which the pickled wire exits in a straight configuration.

2. Apparatus for a continuous pickling of wire. comprising a substantially cylindrical, vertical processing container having an entrance opening at one end and an exit opening at the other end, a rotatable body disposed at the entrance end of said processing container and serving to shape the incoming wire into convolutions, means for moving said convolutions in the form of a helix from said body and from one end of said processing container to the other in the axial direction thereof, a guide member disposed at the exit end of said processing container and serving to deflect the last convolution of the helix substantially along a straight line to the exit opening of the processing container, and means for applying pickling acid to the convolution of the helix which moves through the processing container.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that the rotatable body which is disposed at the entrance end of the processing container is provided with a wire-guiding surface, which tapers in the direction of movement of the helix-through wall of said solid of revolution is provided with orifices for the discharge of pickling acid.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4, characterized in that said solid of revolution is provided with radially protruding means for backing individual portions of the helix on the inside thereof. 

2. Apparatus for a continuous pickling of wire, comprising a substantially cylindrical, vertical processing container having an entrance opening at one end and an exit opening at the other end, a rotatable body disposed at the entrance end of said processing container and serving to shape the incoming wire into convolutions, means for moving said convolutions in the form of a helix from said body and from one end of said processing container to the other in the axial direction thereof, a guide member disposed at the exit end of said processing container and serving to deflect the last convolution of the helix substantially along a straight line to the exit opening of the processing container, and means for applying pickling acid to the convolution of the helix which moves through the processing container.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that the rotatable body which is disposed at the entrance end of the processing container is provided with a wire-guiding surface, which tapers in the direction of movement of the helix through the processing container and the rotatable body is connected to the guide member at the exit end of the processing container.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that the rotatable body at the entrance end and the guide member at the exit end of the processing container are parts of a substantially hollow solid of revolution, which is disposed inside the processing container and conducts pickling acid, and the wall of said solid of revolution is provided with orifices for the discharge of pickling acid.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4, characterized in that said solid of revolution is provided with radially protruding means for backing individual portions of the helix on the inside thereof. 